Christmas Surprises
by ExtremeRainbowRaiderPrincess
Summary: AU. The true meaning of Christmas, a run-in with a mysterious woman, and Ulquiorra being happy... Some days are just meant to be full of surprises.


_Disclaimer: If y'all can find an OC here, then I own them, pardner. After that, I own the story and not a dang thing more._

_Author's Note: Very much an AU story. No yaoi. Surprisingly, also a Christmas fic. Who knew I had it in me? ^_^ And my apologies if there are any name spelling errors in here; it's my first Bleach fic._

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><p><em>Of course it would be sunny today. <em>Ulquiorra thought glumly as he drove his wagon back home.

While in the back of the wagon various parcels sat, all of which held gifts for his family, Ulquiorra's heart was still in town, still in the hands of the woman who had stolen it from him.

Rukia Kuchiki.

_Such a beautiful name for an earthen angel. Too bad she could never love a monster like me. _He thought as the hot California sun glared down on him.

The horses snickered softly as Ichigo Kurosaki passed him on horseback, heading to town.

"Hey, Ulquiorra!" Ichigo shouted behind him, though Ulquiorra didn't turn around.

_Why would I want to associate with the man who is forcing my town to change, and who convinced Rukia that life here was not enough? Not even her brother, Byakuya, approves of him. _Ulquiorra mentally grumbled as Ichigo caught up to him.

"Hey, Ulquiorra, you okay? I shouted for you to wait, but…" At Ulquiorra's frigid look, Ichigo grew quiet. And then, he sighed. "This is about Rukia, isn't it?"

Ulquiorra shook his head as he stared straight ahead. "I do not understand you, Ichigo Kurosaki. You force our town to change, convince Rukia to leave her family behind, against her brother's wishes, and still attempt to befriend nearly everyone. Are you incapable of leaving people alone?" He asked, mustering up a tone of disdain even though he felt like a shadow: Flat, unable to control himself, and totally at the mercy of his surroundings.

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. "I didn't set out to change Rukia's mind about-"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, just stop talking." Ulquiorra cut him off with before snapping the reins.

As the horses picked up their speed, Ichigo was left behind in the dust.

_Maybe I was always meant to be alone. Rukia…_

And that's the last he remembered.

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><p>Ichigo's horse knew the earthquake was about to hit before he did, which left Ichigo in a tough spot when the horse startled him out of his musings, threw him from its back, and took off running in the direction of town.<p>

"Dammit!" Ichigo yelled as the ground began to shake. His hat, which lay on the ground nearby, danced like a puppet worked by a phantom puppeteer as Ulquiorra's wagon bounced and then tipped in the distance.

"Ulquiorra!" Ichigo yelled, scooping up his hat as he got to his feet. Once the earthquake had stopped, he took off running to the wagon, Ulquiorra's horses already free and running for the ranch.

Ichigo reached the overturned wagon to find Ulquiorra unconscious to the side of it. He knelt next to Ulquiorra, who, he realized, was always ghostly pale, and checked to make sure he was all right before something hit him.

"Dammit, this must be the "fate" that I keep getting warned about." He grumbled as he removed his canteen from his belt. He poured a little on Ulquiorra's forehead, trying to wake the young man up, but to no avail. "Oh come on!" He exclaimed, sitting down in the dirt.

_We're about halfway between the town and the ranch without horses and with a useless wagon. Now what am I going to do?_ He wondered.

After several more moments of waiting to see if help would come, Ichigo decided that he would go to town to get help.

"Stay here buddy," he told the unconscious Ulquiorra as he propped the wagon up at an angle over him. "I'm going to get you help."

After saying a swift prayer, hoping that someone was listening to him, he took off running for the town.

The clock was ticking backwards, against them both.

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><p>"<em>Ulquiorra, wake up." <em>A woman told Ulquiorra as he awoke under the wagon… Or, at least, that's where he thought he was.

"Ugh, what's going on?" He groaned, slowly realizing there was a problem.

He crawled out from under the wagon only to find himself at the feet of a Valkyrie.

Or, at least, that's what he thought the woman was.

"_Ulquiorra, what do you think you're doing?"_ She asked him as Ulquiorra tried to figure out what was going on.

"Well, I think I'm… Sleeping under a… Wagon?" Ulquiorra asked in confusion as he rubbed his forehead.

"_There was an earthquake," _the woman told him, _"and your wagon flipped. Ichigo Kurosaki made sure you were all right, and then went for help. He's not the demon you think he is."_

Ulquiorra snorted. "He's nothing more than a self-righteous a-"

At her glare, he stopped.

"_Come now, we have gifts to deliver to your family." _The woman said, changing the subject as she lead her own horse to the wagon and hitched it up.

"But… Why are you helping me?" He asked her as she looked him in the eye, her green eyes serious.

_If she didn't wear that ridiculous white thing in front of her face, then maybe I could figure out who she is._ He thought as she climbed into the wagon, patting the bench next to her.

"_Ulquiorra, whether or not you trust me doesn't matter. I'm here to prevent Christmas for you and your family from being ruined. Now, either get in the wagon, or walk alongside it." _She ordered him.

Ulquiorra and the woman engaged in a staring contest for a moment before he broke her gaze.

"Thank you," he mumbled as he climbed onto the bench. He then stiffened. "The-"

"_Don't worry about the gifts," _she said as she ordered the horse forward at a brisk pace. _"They're all there."_

"Oh." He said. He waited several moments after that before asking a question. "What's your-"

_"Harribel."_ She answered, cutting him off again. _"They call me Harribel."_

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><p>"I swear, he was here." Ichigo told the town doctor, his father Isshin, the town sheriff, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, and Rukia. "And the wagon too!" He shouted in exasperation, flailing his arms at the exact spot he had left Ulquiorra. "Look, there's his hat!" He added, pointing at the abandoned object.<p>

"Hmm…" His father hummed, lying on the ground. "Maybe… He floated away."

"Floated away?" Ichigo shouted. "Like a feather? You're insane!" He snapped as a fifth person rode up.

"Sheriff!" Renji Abarai shouted from atop his horse. "I found him!"

Sheriff Jeagerjaques fell off his own horse at that. "Kurosaki!" He barked at Ichigo as he picked himself off the ground. "When we get back to town, I-"

"Where is he?" Rukia asked, cutting the sheriff off.

Renji grinned. "Oh… Around…"

"I knew it! He floated away! Did you tie him down?" Isshin asked.

Renji shook his head. "Oh trust me, I didn't need to do a thing…"

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><p><em>Half Hour Earlier…<em>

Home. Somehow, that woman had led him home.

And then vanished.

"Ulquiorra!" His mother cried, running out of the house as his father followed him. "He… He told us your wagon had flipped!" She cried as she reached him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "And then the horses showed up."

_Thank God,_ Ulquoirra thought.

"How the hell did you get here?" His father shouted as Deputy Abarai appeared from around the side of the house, sprinting.

"What's the…" He slid to a stop as he saw Ulquiorra. "Looks like Kurosaki was mistaken." He muttered, scratching his jaw.

Ulquiorra looked at the horseless wagon and then looked at his parents again as Renji took off running for his horse. "I… I guess…"

"What? What happened?" His father shouted as his mother shushed him.

Ulquiorra, for once, smiled. "I guess a Christmas miracle happened."

Suddenly Rukia, Ichigo, hell, the changes in town, none of them mattered.

He was with his family, and that's all that mattered.

And he was happy.

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><p>"<em>Is it done?" <em>One of the other Christmas "spirits", or elves, asked Harribel as she returned to their world.

"_Yes, it is."_ She told them. _"It is. He's returned to his family."_

"_Is he… One of us?"_ They asked her.

She was quiet for several moments, weighing her answer. Finally, she spoke. _"No, he's not. We were mistaken."_

_They don't ever need to know I'm lying,_ she thought as the others discussed what they were going to do. _Christmas isn't about self-gain; it's about family and friends and love and… And joy._ She thought, a lone tear coming to her eye before she blinked it away.

_Be happy, Ulquiorra. _She thought. _Because that's the true meaning of Christmas. Happiness._

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><p><em>*Looks around, at everything but the screen* *Whistles* Yeah… Merry Early Christmas everyone! ^_^<em>


End file.
